Mother's Day thoughts

My journey of motherhood began with "mothering" my 4 younger brothers (here with the youngest, Billy).

Then, after Carl and I were married, the first to join our family were these two sweet little girls (Emily and Lauren). They made the job of mothering so easy and such a joy.

Soon, little Mark would join them.  Emily and Lauren were such helpful big sisters, making my job as a mother easier.

Our little family grew as Andy and Jessica joined us. My job as a mother became more challenging, more of a balancing act, and how I wished there were two of me.  Thanks to a very helpful husband, and  helpful big sisters, I was able to laugh more than cry.

Then came along Jeremy, Philip, and baby Carl.

 How did I do it? I ask myself that in retrospect. Well, I didn't do it all. Things didn't get dusted that often. I was tired a lot of the time.  There were plenty of challenging moments, especially as they entered the teenage years.  But through it all, I was happy, really happy, and so thankful for each of them. My love for them carried me through.  God always gave me the strength I needed.

I wouldn't trade those years for anything in the world. The journey of motherhood continues as I hold each grandchild in my arms (here is Emily's first daughter, newborn, Ava).

If I'm lucky, I'll get to hold some of my great grandchildren in my arms, as my mother-in-law did (here holding Lauren's firstborn, Elayna, in her arms about a year before she died).